The Croft's Birthday: Ring Of Praterium
by SurvivorOfCroft
Summary: This fanfic set in Tomb Raider reboot verse, I wrote this in dedicated to Lara's birthday, I intended to post this story on her birthday (on Twitter) but it got delayed when I realized how much I needed to write it, it's a retelling of Lara's childhood, so if you interested about her childhood and a fan of the reboot you might enjoyed reading it.


A small sigh escapes the brunette's lips while she sitting inside the Croft's Manor bedroom lying face down on a desk, hands wrapping around it, her face appears to looks wearied, tired but somehow that is not the reason why she letting out the sighs, quite the opposite in fact and the reason is that she doesn't wants to be in that very own bedroom right now, if it wasn't because of her promise to Jonah, who constantly pleading, even begging her, to stop with this crazy obsession in finding Trinity at least temporarily and just for his sake to takes few days break in the Manor, her own home.

She wouldn't be here .. Not when her mind still knowing full well that Trinity is out there at large, the murderers of her father and they're searching for something.

The Cross Of Stars, an artifact that her father used to tell her when she was little about how it could whisper the location of God, what could Trinity want with it? But regardless whatever it is, it's definitely won't be something good and she needs to stop them.. No, she wants to kill them cause they killed her father and now they even hurt Sam.

The thought soon interrupted her chain of thoughts when she starts reflecting on how much she has changed, how violent she has become... would her father be proud or be terrified of his daughter if he got to see how she is like today...

"Dad..." A soft voice spoken from her lips as she realizes how much she misses him, she never missed him a lot more than she has been recently now. Ever since she realised he was right about the myths, about what he was trying to discover...for Amelia.. For her mom..

She has so much to say to him about it, if only she could see him again.. If only...

Suddenly a strange sound comes up. The sound of something.. Radiating.. or so she thinks, she can't quite make out of what it is, just that it's a really strange sound nevertheless..

Walking out of the room, she starts to follows the sound, somehow the sound isn't loud in anyway but still enough to constantly can be hear clearly in her ears, that troubling her enough to need to finds out just what it is...

To Lara's much surprises the sounds leads her to the basement of where the wine cellar is and through there to her father's secret lab, the most unexpected place of all.. Or is it? After all it is her father's secret lab so no surprise that it'd also have the unexpected things there.. And it seemingly so when she discovered that the sound is coming from a drawer, opens the drawer she spots a golden ring inside, it's a very plain looking ring with a very simple design and from the first look, one would think there's nothing special about it except for it's golden color.

Holding the ring with her fingers which the sounds immediately stops as soon as she touches it, wonder what could it be as she also noticed in the drawer, below where the ring was there's also a paper note, she takes it out and read it

'The Ring Of Praeteritum, an artifact that can responds to one抯 most desired memories and if one truly yearns for it they can even relish the past with their own eyes'

...So is this it? Was this the reason why she could抳e heard the strange sound coming from it, because the ring was responding to her desire? To her wish that she could see her father again..?

If it is true then it's just exactly what she needed or more like.. Desired, even if there's a risk she'd gladly take it much more when according to the note there seems to be none of them.. And she just really wants to see him

"..." A few moments after sliding the ring into her finger, she looks around the place with seemingly nothing changed nor happened, she then closes her eyes focusing all her minds into thinking about her father, her hands holding the jade pendant on her neck while thinking so

And then the ring starts to glows...

"..." After a few minutes, she can hear some small sounds, the sounds gradually becoming louder, it's the sounds of running footsteps, she immediately opens her eyes and right before her it was him

'It's him! It's really him!' Lara gasps in shocks at what she seeing, it抯 really is her father and only that he looks a lot younger than the last time she saw him but not just him there is also her or more precisely a younger and smaller version of her, who was causing the footsteps sounds as she is running to him

Young Lara: "Dad, look what I found!"

The young girl says loudly with a happy expression while running hurriedly to her father, her small hands holding tightly the jade pendant, something she just got out of the dig site and likes any girl who first time discovered a treasure, she's very excited to show it to her father...however her father reaction wasn't quite what she expected..

Lord Croft: "In a minute, darling Lara, in a minute"

He says while holding his phone with his other palm raises up signals her to wait, completely doesn't pay attention to what she's holding in her hands, young Lara immediately turned back, disappointed yes but not sad, not one bit as she was too overwhelmed by the excitement feeling from what she just found, so she immediately looked to show it to someone else, someone she knows that would appreciate of what she just discovered

Young Lara: "Roth, look what I've found"

Roth immediately turns to her with a smile, genuinely curious of what the little girl just found, starts by a joking tone

Roth: "Another piece of broken pottery?"

Taking the pendant in hand, after a few seconds of examining it, he'd look greatly impressed at what she just found

"Now that is quite something, a Jade. And in good condition too"

Young Lara: "It's my first /Real/ find"

The young girl says proudly back

Roth: "Did you show your father?"

Young Lara: "He's busy.."

Roth then shakes head with a sigh

Roth: "Of course..."

He then bends down, reaching a hand to his shoe, he takes out his shoelace then used it to thread through the small hole of the pendant, ties it together turning it into a necklace and hands it back to Lara

Roth: "Here, try this!"

Lara takes the necklace in her hand, holding it tightly by the shoelace, she makes a nod of gratitude then smiles brightly at it and says proudly

Young Lara: "I'll never take it off!"

The pendant has always been with her ever since then, becoming almost inseparable

"Roth..." He was like a second father to her, whenever her father was too busy to tend to her needs and Roth wasn't, he'd always doting on her for whatever things that she got to share with, using his charm and humor to made her felt happiest she could in those doting.

He treated her like his own daughter, guided her, mentored her. And just like what a father did, he protected her even in his final moments...

The scenes start to fades away so does the ring's glowing, Lara looks at the ring with an amazed expression while thinking to herself

'The ring worked, it really works!'

What she saw really was from her past although she wonders why did she see Roth when she thought about her father, could it be that... 'The pendant?' Did the contact with it made her revisit the memories about Roth?

Is that how the ring work? By having a contact with an object, the ring will bring back the memories related to the object?

After the thought, Lara immediately touches one of her father's note, thinking maybe it could trigger the vision again

"..." minute passed and just as expected, nothing, of course it is as she doesn't have any memories related to these notes thus confirming to her about how this ring works.

She then immediately heads out intending to find an item that she has had a memory with her father.

Exiting the lab and while heading out on the wine cellar, she spots a very old chessboard on a table, she immediately recognizes that it is the chessboard, that she and her father's very trusted old butler used to play together with on so many times.

"Winston..." Lara mumbles his name and starts to walks to where the chessboard is, holding it in her hands, suddenly the nostalgia feeling of the games she has had with the butler returns stronger than ever as the ring starts glowing and soon the vision of one of the games she had with him before shows clearly before her eyes..

Young Lara: "King to Queen One, I'm going to win this time, Winston!"

The little girl says loud and clear trying to show confident in her voice, the butter seemingly amused and responds with a soft chuckle

Winston: "You should know by now, winning isn't everything."

He says as he moves the chess piece accordingly to his speech

"Queen to King's Bishop Six. Check"

The girl making an unamused look while blowing raspberry

Young Lara: "Easy for you to say! You always win!"

she moves her chest piece while saying confidently

"Knight takes queen!"

Winston: "What I mean to say is..."

The butler says slowly, trying to emphasizes his next speech

"Try to enjoy the journey, Lara. Don't rush to victory, Bishop to King Seven"

Young Lara: "I know Winston, I just want..."

she exclaims in surprises at the sudden realization

"Oh, no! I didn't even see that!"

The butler chuckles amusingly while speaking in a voice with a slight teasing tone in it

Winston: "You should also know by now, I'm not one to be trifled with on this board, young lady. Mate"

The young lady huffing in respond with a pout

Young Lara: "Argh, I'm going to win...Someday"

"I never did..." Lara says with a smile after watching the scene, true to her words, she could never beat him and she seriously wonders why is that? With her eyes checking around the chessboard for few moments, she chuckles slightly then lets out a theory of why

"I always chose white, maybe if I let him go first once in a while, I might've won?"

Winston, he was one of the few closest people to her, the butler always tried her best to be her companion when her father started getting too busy to care about her in his quest of searching for immortality. That was also when she started 'acting up' in order to get his attention.. Or simply just to vent. And the poor old butler was always the one who gotten the worst from it..yet he'd always be so patient with her no matter what..

She still remembers that time, one of the worst times for both her and the butler when she lured him into the walk-in-freezer then locked him up and left him there and then went hiding, the butler got released after hours in there, who'd go find Lara immediately, he knows all her hiding places although even that time it'd took him for a while to find out where she is and when he did, he found her sobbing, crying with her face down on her knees, she was missing her father, who was at this point so obsessed and busied with his studies and explores that he'd often forgot to be with her... The butler using his soft words and gentle smile, trying his hardest to comfort her and Lara soon found herself asleep on his back while he carrying her back to her room.

The next day she'd found her father soon afterward who apologized to her though also gently scolded her for what she did.

it was cause of Winston, of course..

Lara smiled as she recalling the memories, feeling both grateful but also guilty as she thinking of how could she have done such thing to him..

Putting the old chessboard down, she then leaves the basement and starts going up back up to the stair to where her father's study room is.

Standing in front the the room, she stays in silence for a while feeling nervous of what she's about to see

She's gonna meet him, she's gonna really meet her dad!... Well, not in a way of truly meet him but the fact that she could see him again making her feeling so overwhelmed right now.. The feeling that she can't even properly describe it, just that it is filled with both excitement and anxious..

After a minute, she strongly shakes her head feeling silly at how she feeling right now... The feeling of a child, who finally gonna see her father again after many years of missing him..

Slowly opens the door to the room, she glances around trying find an object that she thinks she has the best memory of him with.. She then chuckles slightly cause this entire room has so many memories between her and him. She shouldn't even need to look much, though when she stopping by the window and looks at it, she smiles slightly as she touching the window, recalling how she almost never used the door just to surprises him and also because...

The ring then starts glowing

Lord Croft: "Lara, refusing to use the door again, I see"

Putting his notebook down the desk, the father laughs in amusement as soon as he spotted his daughter standing at the window, he then starts walking toward her

Young Lara: "But it's faster this way, Dad!"

The girl says nonchalantly with a smirk, like she has gotten used to it.

Lara who watching the scene, looking shocked with her hands covering her mouth trying to contains the overwhelming emotions from bursting out of her as she seeing her father again right in front of her..

She'd come to hug him immediately if she could, to tell him how much she missed him the moment she saw him.. But she was too afraid to do so after all she know it was just her memories being replayed in front of her and she wouldn't want to do anything in afraid of disturbing the ring's power while it working.. And so holding the overwhelming emotions inside, she watches silently

Her father still laughing opens his arm to picks up his daughter inside while says jokingly

Lord Croft: "Come here, you little money!"

Young Lara: "Are you going on another adventure?"

Lord Croft: "Yes, my greatest one yet.."

Young Lara: "Well, I've decided that I /Should/ be your assistant!"

The girl says smirking while expecting him to say yes.. Like most of the time.. But it's just not this time

Lord Croft: "Oh, have you? Well, there's no one I'd rather have by my side"

He says while reaching his hand closing a book then in a soft tone he says with a slight tone of sadness in it

"But this business... It's too dangerous."

He looks down at his daughter still with the same tone also with an expression that matches his voice

"Lara, listens to me. Someday you're going to make such a mark on this world. You're going to make me so proud"

A ringing sound suddenly comes up from a phone, interrupting his speech and causing him to hurriedly walks to picks it up.

"Give me a moment, darling. I need to take this."

That moment never came... He was just so focused on that phone call that frustrated Lara greatly so much that she just left the room closing the door angrily behind while he was still on that phone call.

An angry expression was clear on the young Lara when she exiting the door, feeling hurt at her father neglecting. Although she did curious at what he just said, why did he say that but all she could felt at that moment was how could he denied her to be his assistant and then just ignored her over some stupid phone call.

As the scene fading away, Lara who still seemingly in deep thought of what she just watched, the overwhelming feeling of joy has been now subsided, giving her a clear head to thinks about why did her father say those seemingly last words to her before that adventure.. and she thinks she knows why now.

The book that he was closing and taking along with him on that adventure she has seen the picture on that book before... It was Trinity and if that isn't obvious enough, right below that book was a map of Syria.

He was going to Syria in searching for the clue to the Divine Source. And he knew he was being watched by Trinity.. That's why! That's why he said it was too dangerous for her to come with him, he just wanted to keep her safe...But she didn't know...all she could see as a sulky child was a father who didn't care for her...

"Dad.." a cracking voice comes out of Lara as the guilty feeling consuming her, as a child she didn't care about his quest in searching for immortality to bring back her mother.. And even when she grew up, all that time she thought like everybody else he was searching for a non-existent myth.. She was so angry at him...even at his final moments.. That final moments..

She walks over to where his desk is, to where he was last spoken to her.. That memories, the last moments of him was horrible and she just wanted to forget.. She didn't want the last image of her father was a crazy man who killed himself.. But now she wants to face it again.. At least she feels like she needs to, to see her father's face in his last moments...because now she knows the truth

The ring glows as she touching the desk

Lord Croft: "No, you listen to me! This discovery is too important"

A loud angry voice from an equally angry man talking to a phone, outside the door, young Lara could be seen peeking inside feeling intimidated by her father's actions right now to hesitated to step inside

"I don't give a Damn about my reputation! Don't you dare threaten me! After everything I've done!... Hello? Hello?!"

He immediately shoves his phone down angrily when the other voice seemingly hanged up on him, seeing this from him, the little girl still feeling intimidated but also worried about her father and so she mustered her courage to steps in and asks him in a nervous tone

Young Lara: "Dad,.. What's happening?"

The father seems to be fully consumed by anger that making him instinctively yelled in responds with an enraged voice that his daughter first ever heard from even though it wasn't directed at her

Lord Croft: "THEY'RE FOOLS!!"

Young Lara: "You're scaring me..."

True to her words, the little girl says in a timid voice with a scared expression however she also very much even more worried about her father

The father glancing down at the desk then looks at his scared daughter, in a soft voice he says trying to make his daughter understand

Lord Croft: "I'm close, Lara...I'm close to something important. Someday you'll understand"

The little girl looks at him with an unhappy look when she realizes this is again just because of another of his research, in an angry voice she answers

Young Lara: "I don't want to understand!"

She yells loudly at him before storming out of the door while also in a cracked voice, yelling back to him, who抯 looking at her with a saddened and disappointed look

"I just want you to Stop! Be my Dad again!"

Storming out of the door, she keeps running, tears dropping on her cheeks along the way

'I hate him!.. Why?.. Why was he my dad?'

She thinks to herself now with a hatred showing in her teary eyes

'All he cares about is just stupid myths, he doesn't care about me at all..'

The young girl keeps running, she just wants to get out of here, get out of this Manor, she sicks of this empty place where she can find no more love for her in it

Winston: "Mistress Lara, what happened?"

Because her mind was too hurt to even pays attention to her surroundings, before she knows it she has ran into the butler who quickly stops her with his hand holding hers

Young Lara: "Let me go, Winston!"

she says angrily while trying to pries off his hand

Winston: "Mistress Lara, where will you go?"

Young Lara: "I don't know! I don't care! I just want to get away from here... Away from him!"

After hearing her, Winston understands what just happened,

Winston: "Lara, give your father times.. He was just unwell at this moment, he loves you, you know that"

Young Lara: "No, he doesn't! All he cares about is just his stupid research! He doesn't care about me!"

The butler lets out a small sigh, he then bends down and gently wipes a tear near her eye

Winston: "I know you didn't mean that, you can never hate him, Lara, I know you love him too much for that just as how much he loves you. He might not always act like it but trust me, Lara. Whatever he does, you'll always be his greatest concern"

After hearing his words, the little girl stays in silences, she knows it is true no matter what, no matter if she telling herself otherwise, that she might even feel a spontaneous hatred toward him, she knows she still loves her father with all her heart, even if he has truly gone insane, she'd still love him no matter what... Because she knows, he also truly loves her.. That he was just too 'lost' to his studies at the moment... After all this is not the first time...at least she thought it was..

Winston : "Come on, let's go back to your room, you'll feel better after you have slept. I'll talk to your father later."

The butler then stands up and gently takes her hand, guiding her back into her bedroom

Lying down on her bedroom, the young Lara actually does feel sleepy and tired after the outburst that caused her to exhausted greatly both physically and mentally. She quickly falling asleep

"...!" All of the sudden a loud gunshot was so loud that caused her to wakes up immediately, at least somehow she thought it was the loudest gunshot sound she ever heard, making her feeling both frightened and confused at the sound

"Dad..." a bad feeling raising up in her that caused her to immediately runs out of the room and heads to her father's study and once there beside the butler already there, looking shocked at the sight before him, the sight that she'd never forget and haunted her for the rest of her life..

"Dad..?" The bloody sight of the corpse before her that was her father caused Lara to stands speechless after her single utter of the word

'What happened? This can't be real, right? This is just a nightmare right?.. That can't be dad.. That can't be...' the young girl keeps mumbling to herself in silence with no actual words comes out of her lips.

The sight of her dead father was too traumatic for her to copes with and so she drops down knees first on the floor.

The butler gasps in shock at Lara, he immediately runs to her and carries her up on his hands, blaming himself that he shouldn't have let her seen this, he quickly carries her outside.

The young Lara whose eyes still looking at her father with a blank expression, she could still see that face of her father, the lifeless face of his.. It was the last image of him that she saw...

"..." A few minutes passed, Lara who was watching the scene in dead silence, before she starts walking over to the corpse of her father and kneels down before him, looking at him silently for a few minutes

"Dad..." finally a word escapes out of her lips and after that a sobbing sound could be heard from the brunette and it's getting louder and louder with tears starts running down on her cheeks with a cracking voice as she speaks

"Dad.. I'm so.. sorry.. I.. I.."

She says while sobbing, feeling that she could've done better, that she should've not said those words to him.. He was a famed explorer, who inspired her to follows his footstep, he was the best kind of father one could抳e asked for.

Why did she say that to him?

She should've tried to understand him, after all, obsessed as he might in his quest of searching for immortality, all he wanted was to bring back her mother so they could be a whole family again..

But no, she was a stupid stubborn kid, who only cares about herself and didn't know better, she shoved him away when he needed her support, the one he loved the most in the world..

Maybe she didn't really love him after all..

"NOOO!!"

A loud voice immediately screamed right after that thought in her mind, to strongly denies any of the intrusive thought that trying to take over her because of guilt

"I LOVED YOU, DAD!... I REALLY DID!"

Yelling out her love to him, while sobbing loudly as both the feelings of guiltiness and sadness taking over her as she reaching her hand out to his face

To her surprises and unexpectedly she can actually touch him. The feeling of the skins contact is real, it wasn't just her memories being replayed to her, everything she has seen was actually real..

"No..why.. NO!!"

Her father is really right before her, she didn't know this was part of the ring's power, why didn't she know this sooner?! Then she could've probably prevented his death and he'd probably still be with her now.

And with that thought she can't take it anymore, the guilt is just too much, she immediately bends down hugging her father corpse, crying uncontrollably while she doing so

"I loved you, Dad.. I've always loved you, no matter how you were...You were the greatest dad, I could've ever wished for ...I could never hated you."

Crying as she speaks as she could feel her face getting wet on his shirt, the speech was like that of a child begging for forgiveness...

"I'm so sorry, Dad.. I shouldn't have said that to you!... I wish.. I wish I could've done better "

While still crying face down on his chest, suddenly she can feel a slight movement from his body

"...Huh?"

Then a hand moving up to her cheek cupping it much to her shock

"Dad!!" she exclaims, shocked but also overjoyed at the sensation of it

she immediately raises her head up looking at him as his eyes starting to slowly open, the hopeful feeling and joy in her also raising up

Lord Croft: "Lara...? You are here...?"

Now fully filled with joys seeing her father being alive and speaking right in front of her, she immediately hugs him again, giving him the tightest hug that she has ever done in her life

"YES!! YES! I抦 Here, Dad! And I Won't Ever Let You Go Again!!"

She says loudly in the most joyous tone, the happiest that one could expect from like that of a little girl, who just have her biggest wish comes true.

Lord Croft: "Lara, it's really you. Oh, how much I've missed you.. I'm so sorry, Lara.. for what I've done"

The father while patting the back of her head, he says in a tone that full of sorrow but also happiness

"No, Dad! it was my fault! I shouldn't have said that to you! But it doesn't matter now! You're here! You are really here! And I Won't Ever... Ever Let You Go Again, Dad!"

She loudly repeats those last words over and over again while still hugging her father tightly, with even more tears in her eyes keep running down her cheeks but unlike the previous ones, this is the tears of happiness and this truly is the happiest moment of her life..

Her father is alive! This is too good to be true..

.. Almost like a dream..

'No!.. Please don't let this be a dream?.. But this must be real right?'

She could really feel him, she could even hear his voice, this can't be a dream..

Lord Croft: "Lara, I'm so proud of you, just like I said, I knew you would..."

'See? It's true right? It is really his voice.. It is not a dream!'

And what he just said made her felt both proud and even happier than she could ever felt in her already happiest moments

To hearing the father that she admired so greatly to says that he is proud of her after so many years missing.

Lord Croft: "I have so much to say to you, Lara.. If only I could have more times.."

"Huh? 匴hat do you mean... Dad?"

The moment he says those words, a nervous feeling in her raises up, telling her something isn't quite right.. But she still hugging him tightly nevertheless because she has a feeling that from those words.. There's a chance, a chance that she feels like he's gonna disappears again as soon as she lets him go.. And that this really was just a -

-"Lara... Lara... Lara"-

Suddenly she hears a voice calling out her names multiple time, only this time it wasn't her father's voice but of someone else familiar to her... Who?

-"Little bird!"-

"... What?"

she exclaims in surprises when she finally realizes that it's a voice of from another person that also very dear to her but just not her father抯

'How could this be?' she slowly leans back out to see just who she's hugging.. And it was just as expected..

Jonah:" Lara, are you okay? You've been sleep talking"

"Sleep talking?"

She was? Does this meant that was all just dream?

"What? No!"

She immediately raises her hand up and looks at her finger and the ring, it wasn't there.. Staring at her finger in speechless as she realizing there was no Ring Of Praeteritum all this times.. Was that all just her dream? She shakes head frantically trying to focus her mind, questioning how could she have such a strong, vivid dream in her sleep...

"It was all just a dream..?"

Looking at her as Jonah questions her strange behavior

Jonah: "Yeah, you were sleeping when I came in and when I tried to wake you up, you suddenly hugged me and calling me Dad. I guess you still really miss him huh?.. But you really shouldn't have slept in the main hall without even turning on the fireplace, you know, you might catch a cold!... Wait... "

Jonah suddenly stops and reaches a finger to her cheek, gently rubs her still wetting cheek

"You were crying?"

Lara immediately turns away from him, feeling both her cheeks still wetting from the crying, she quickly wipes all the tears away with her hands, how could there be a dream that caused her to cried so much? Is that even possible? Did she really was falling asleep on the couch outside here in the main hall all this time?

Was that really even just a dream at all?

Jonah: 揕ara, are you okay?"

Jonah asks in a tone that matches his worried expression

"I'm, I'm okay! Really! I was just... Just.."

She pauses as she doesn't even know how she should explain it to him but not wanting him to be worried, she tries to diverge it with another subject. One that she also curious about

"Hey, Jonah.. What're you doing here? You didn't tell me that you were coming?"

With a raised brow, Jonah chuckles softly, amused at her question

Jonah: "You really forgot it, didn't you? Just as I thought. Today is your birthday!"

"Huh?... Today is my birthday?"

Lara looking surprised at the sudden revelation.. So that explains why she seeing a big package being placed on the table right in front of her

Jonah: "You really were so out of it, you were so obsessed with finding Trinity that you didn't even know today is your birthday!"

Jonah says with a sighs, he then reaches his hand inside the package and takes out a birthday cake with a size that抯 enough for two persons to eat

"And here's the gift from Sam"

He says as he also a takes out a folded happy birthday card and a box of Jaffa Cakes, he then hands over the birthday card to Lara

Lara lets out a soft chuckle, when she sees the Jaffa Cake box, the same gift that she gave Sam the last time she saw her, holding the birthday card, she unfolds it and reads the message inside:

'Hey, Lara, although I'm sure you know why but I'm still so sorry for not being able to be there on your birthday! And you know for sure that I wouldn't miss it for the world to be on your Valentine Birthday, the day that I get to have an excuse to take your bookworm butt outside to meet with all the cute guys out there.

Lara, You don't need to feel guilty for what happened, all you need to know is that you are my best friend, you've done so much for me that's the least I could do for you.

I'm getting better now so you don't need to worry about me. I can't wait to see you again!

I hope you're having the best birthday ever!

Happy Birthday, Lara!"

A warm smile formed on Lara's lips after she done reading the message, she can feels a tingling sensation happening inside her, the feeling that one feels when they are truly happy, strange as even when this is the first time she celebrates her birthday without Sam ever since she first met her but this message is enough to makes up for it

Jonah:" What does it say?"

"She says she's sorry for not being able to be here and she's getting better and of course a happy birthday for me"

Jonah: "Yeah, last time I saw her, she definitely was getting better.. You know, Lara when I was coming in here, while you were still sleeping before you hugged me. What I saw... Was something that I haven't seen in a long time ever since our trip to Siberia.."

Jonah hesitates for a moment unsure if he should say his next words, something that inappropriate for birthday

".. Ever since... you discovered Trinity killed your father.. You were smiling and that was the happiest smile I've ever seen from you, the smile that I've wanted to see for a really long time now.."

Listen to his words, Lara recalling of what she just experienced, of what might or might not have been a dream but even if it was a dream the feeling to her was truly real and to got to see her father again and to heard him say he proud of her was the happiest feeling and one of the best presents she could抳e ever wished for a birthday..

And so she smiles with a nod to Jonah

"Because I really was."

Jonah looks at her curiously with a raised brow as he wonders just what happened, he then nods back at her

"There. It is that smile again... Happy Birthday, Lara."

He says, smiling as he lighting up a candle in a shape of the number 26 on it.

Still with the smile, Lara nods in responds

"Happy Birthday to myself. Thank you Jonah."

She then raises her hand up and looks at the finger that used to have the Ring Of Praterium on it

"Thank you, Dad."


End file.
